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Making Your Videos More Creative

In a world that’s over-saturated with videos, everybody is trying to find that way to stand out. Creative filming and editing can make or break your video! With practice and time, you can make your videos more creative.

First and foremost, tons of people are switching to DSLR cameras to film nowadays. So if you don’t have one, I highly suggest getting one. It’ll make your videos more creative right off the bat, and you can get a good camera with a lens or two for 600 – 800 dollars. Using DSLR professionally for video is still in that awkward stage. You’ll be showing up to a shoot with what looks like just a photo camera, yet it can produce powerful, vibrant video. And a lot of people will think you’re taking photographs. But that’s not anyone’s fault. DSLR footage is awesome to work with because it provides the option for a shallow depth of field. That means you can only focus on certain subjects (if you choose!) Those videos with a nice blurry background and a clear subject are the work of DSLR cameras/lenses. It’s fun to play around with depth of field and see what you like.
Also for creativity, be sure to mix your video with all different types of shots. I’m talking close up pans, far away stills, low angles, etc. DSLR video really packs a punch, and you will have to buy multiple lenses and keep switching them depending on the look you’re going for. I’m not going to lie, using a traditional video camera is a lot easier. But we’re after creativity here, right? You can’t get that with a regular camcorder.

Editing is equally as important as filming. Often times you’ll notice a video has great cinematography, but the editing lacks. Or vice versa. It always impresses me to see crazy good filming AND editing. It really shows off a skilled videographer. In editing, remember that it’s almost ALWAYS about keeping the watcher entertained, and NOT about the length. If your final video ends up being shorter than you thought, your watcher will probably thank you. Did you know the average attention span in 2012 was eight seconds? Short and sweet is probably the way to go, as long as you’re not sacrificing good content.

But what about editing techniques? Quick cuts, constant movement, and good music will do a lot for a video that’s supposed to be fast paced. For slower videos, multiple angles and effects are important. You can look into downloading free/legal film burns to add flavor and color. Or you can get an 8mm or 16mm film camera and try to create them yourself. You can also download free light leaks, or you can try a technique called lens whacking when you’re filming. That will make your video dreamy and give it a feel like you’re really there.

And after you do all of that, your choice of where to put your video is very important. For most videos that have a truly cinematic/artsy/fun feel, you’ll want to use Vimeo. The Vimeo community is much more focused around professional video production than Vimeo. The Vimeo help forums are extremely helpful, as well as their messaging system for contacting fellow cinematographers. Video comments are clean and respectable 99% of the time, and you’ll sometimes get good advice without asking. One of the biggest issues people have with Vimeo is that it’s smaller audience can lead to much fewer views. While often true, it isn’t always. A truly cinematic video can get more views on Vimeo.

Both of these (exact same) videos were published by the same filmmaker/company on YouTube and Vimeo, and the Vimeo one has about double the number of views:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YYaUom4rh8

Hopefully you found these tips interesting and helpful. For creative video, it’s all about practice and developing your own style. A lot of cinematic choices aren’t right or wrong, they’re simply up to the videographer.